Rotary vane type turbine engine



United States Patent [72] Inventor Walter J. Pitts Palmyra Township, Lee County, Ill. (R.R. 1, Sterling, 111., 61081) [21 Appl. No. 734,908

[22] Filed June 6, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 22, 1970 [54] ROTARY VANE TYPE TURBINE ENGINE 16 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. 123/8.45, 123/8.15, l23/8.19, l23/8.37,417/245, 417/246,

[51] lnt.C1 ..F02b55/16, F02b53/08 [50] Fleldofsearch 123/16, 8MS, 8, SPV, 8S5; 9l/66U.S.(Cursory) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 282,001 7/1883 Kissam 91/66 1,796,535 3/1931 Rolaff 123/8SS 3,103,920 9/1963 Georges l23/8XX 3,120,921 2/1964 Hovorka l23/8SS 3,127,096 3/1964 Froede.... l23/8SS 3,446,191 5/1969 Vernon 123/16 3,464,395 9/1969 Kelly 123/16 2,174,664 10/1939 Korany.... 123/16 2,345,561 4/1944 Al1en,Jr... 123/16 3,121,421 2/1964 Peterson... 123/16 3,196,856 7/1965 Ward... 123/16 3,324,840 6/1967 Linn 123/16 uv f Primary Examiner-Mark M. Newman Assistant Examiner-Allan D. Herrmann Attorney-Andrew F. Wintercorn ABSTRACT: The rotor, which is of cylindrical form and of a weight to serve as the flywheel for the engine, besides being a fluid coolant and lubricant pump, and, with its radial vanes, a pump for pumping and compressing the air and fuel mixture, is mounted off center in the cylindrical bore of the housing. Air is drawn in through a carburetor into inner chambers in the radial guides for the vanes as the vanes move outwardly by spring pressure and centrifugal force, and the mixture thus formed is compressed and transferred through tubes to the outer combustion chambers defined between the neighboring vanes between the rotor and the bore of the housing, all chambers around one-half the rotor being the secondary compression chambers and those around the other half being the firing chambers, ignition occurring to one side of a dead center point and exhaust occurring at the opposite extreme point. injection of the precompressed mixture occurs at a point about removed from the exhaust port to allow air to be blown into the combustion chambers at the exhaust point to clear out spent hot gases and replace them with air while also cooling the walls sufficiently in advance of the mixture injection to avoid any likelihood of preignition. Oil for lubrication and cooling is pumped by the hollow rotor to flow from a hollow bottom plate upwardly through the rotor into a hollow top plate, where some of the oil is circulated through a cooler before transfer through a cooler before transfer through a tube to the bottom plate while the rest is circulated downwardly through passages in the hollow housing back to the bottom plate, the oil lubricating the rotor and its vanes as it passes from the bottom plate into the rotor and from the rotor into the top plate.

PATENTED DEC221970 SHEET 1 OF 4 WALTER J. PUTS PATENTED DEB22 I970 SHEET 2 OF 4 FIG. 4

INVENTOR WALTER J.

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lNVENTOR v WALTER J. P/TTS ROTARY VANE TYPE TURBINE ENGINE This invention relates to a new and improved rotary vanetype turbine engine.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an engine of the kind described suitable for automotive, industrial, and marine applications. It is far simpler than others devised heretofore with a similar kind of operation involved, the rotor of the present invention, which serves as its own flywheel, being eccentrically mounted inside a cylindrical housing and having its radially disposed slidable vanes slidably engaging the smooth cylindrical bore of the housing and so arranged with respect to a carburetor that the vanes in their outward movement draw in the combustible mixture and in their inward movement subject this mixture to a primary compression, this mixture being then conducted to outer chambers peripherally of the rotor between the vanes slidably engaging the bore of the housing, whereby to subject this mixture to further compression before the firing, the force of these explosions being exerted against the vanes tangentially with respect to the rotor.

Another object is to provide an engine of the kind described having a unique means of scavenging spent gases at the exhaust point and incidentally cooling the hot walls of the combustion chambers enough to safely inject precompressed combustible mixture for further compression, and also a unique ignition means whereby ignition is started as near to dead center as is practical and feasible without danger of preignition and knocking.

Another object is to provide an engine of the kind described incorporating a novel combination cooling and oiling system in which oil for lubricating purposes serves also as the engine coolant by virtue of the novel way in which it is circulated through the engine, the hollow rotor serving as the oil pump.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an engine made in accordance with my invention, a portion of the exhaust manifold being broken away to show the exhaust ports;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the engine with one portion of the housing broken away to illustrate the spark plug and its rela tionship to a number of neighboring combustion chambers;

FIG. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross section on the broken line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 4 to better illustrate the construction;

FIG. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5, for a similar reason; and

FIGS. 7 to 9 are views, which, taken with some of the other figures, serve to illustrate the combined cooling and lubricating system, forming an important part of the present invention.

The same reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the engine 1 in profile as viewed from a point on a radial line from its center through the exhaust port region 3 which has its cover or manifold 5 and attached exhaust pipe 7 broken away for clarification. The visible components of FIG. 1 are the housing 9 with bottom and top plates 11 and 13, respectively, which contain various internal passages. Cover plates 15 and 17, respectively, serve to enclose the engines top and bottom openings. The cranking of the engine is effected by starter unit 19 which is engaged, via conventional gears enclosed in housing 21. Carburetion is provided by side-draft carburetor 23, supplied with fuel from a remote tank. Air enters the filter assembly and travels by means of suction into the carburetor, where it is mixed with fuel to provide the combustible mixture, which is subjected to an initial or primary compression, followed by a further or secondary compression before explosion in the engine's combustion chambers. Internal air-fuel flow is such that the mixture exits from the engine through tubes 27, 29 and 31, reentering the housing 9 at 33, and 37, respectively. Oil flow throughout the engine achieves cooling as well as lubrication and the fluid which will be employed as an oil will recirculate through the engine via inlet or return tubing 39, which is connected to the bottom plate 11 at 41. Oil, after passing through the engine, carries the heat to be dissipated to an oil cooler or heat exchanger 43, which includes an air intake and fan assembly, the outlet pipe 45 connected to the top plate 13 conducting the outgoing hot oil to the heat exchanger 43, as shown. All internal forces developed serve to drive the internal rotor 65 which is splined to the output or driven shaft 47, and, being of heavy construction, serves as the engines flywheel.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the engine. Here again, the carburetor 23, the mixture conducting tubes 27, 29, and 31, the air filter 25, oil return tube 39, and oil cooler air intake 43 are illustrated. The cooler tubes 49 also are indicated as they extend outwardly from the fan housing 43 to dissipate some heat through the tubing walls directly to the atmosphere. The top plate 13 is fastened to the barrel by peripherally arranged bolts 51 that extend through the top cover 15. This is the same method by which the bottom plate 11 is secured to the lower open face of the housing 9, also in conjunction with its bottom cover plate 17, as seen at 51' in FIG. 1. A piece of the top cover 15 has been cut away in FIG. 2 to show the way the spark plug P extends into a recess 53 for firing of combustible mixture in the combustion chamber C in the housing 9.

FIG. 3 is a section through the housing 9 along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 In this view, the outer jacket passages 55 in the wall of housing 9 provided for oil circulation are clearly represented. The heavy inner wall 57 of the housing 9 is given ample rigidity to withstand internal explosions and established stresses by virtue of bridging webs 59. The point 60 which is from the exhaust openings 3, is the equivalent of a top dead center position in a conventional reciprocating engine. As viewed in FIG. 3, all chambers C or numbered 61 to the left of this point, comprising the half circle from this point to the exhaust opening center line, are firing chambers. Radial gates or vanes 63 slidable in radial guides provided in rotor 65 serve to seal each firing chamber 61 from neighboring chambers. The rotor 65 is mounted eccentrically in relation to the housing 9, thus providing minimum volume at the top chamber position 67 and the maximum volume at the bottom chamber position 69, at the exhaust opening 3. A series of internal cavi ties 71 in the rotor are designed to have the lubricating-cooling fluid circulate therethrough. The rotor is splined to the output shaft 47 as shown at 73. Rotation of the rotor is in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed here, and it will be noted that the combustible mixture inlet pipes 33, 35 and 37 communicate at axially and circumferentially spaced points with the bore of housing 9, as seen at 75, for best distribution. This point of reentry of the mixture for secondary compression was selected to achieve the earliest possible injection at a point after the chambers and their separating vanes 63 have cooled somewhat. If there was no such lag, preignition might occur when the fuel mixture was injected against metal parts while still too hot from the exhaust.

FIG. 4, which is a section on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, more clearly defines the vertical passages through which lubricating-cooling fluid and fuel mixture flow. The fuel feed cycle of this engine involves the initial cranking and beyond that the cycle is self-sustaining so long as fuel and air are supplied to the carburetor 23. Referring to FIG. 3 again, it can be seen that the inner chambers 77 behind the vanes 63 in the radial guides for said vanes change in volume with the radial movement of the vanes due to the changing clearance between eccentric rotor 65 and housing 9. As these inner chambers 77 are expanding in volume due to outward vane movement caused partly by Z- shaped leaf springs S attached to the vanes and bearing against the inner ends of the guideways for said vanes, and partly by centrifugal force, the air-fuel mixture is sucked into said inner chambers through intake passage 79 shown in FIG. 4. As each vane is thereafter forced inwardly due to rotor motion, this air-fuel mixture is compressed initially and forced out through passage 81 into the injection tubes 27, 29 and 31 previously mentioned, which conduct the compressed mixture to the bore of housing 9 for the secondary of final compression and ultimate ignition and explosion. Thus the rotor vanes serve both as the fuel pump means as well as movable combustion chamber walls. Looking again at FIG. 3, it is apparent that the rotor motion will cause the chambers on the right half circle of the engine to diminish in volume, thus compressing the airfuel mixture in the secondary of final compression before explosion. At chamber position 67, the point just past top dead center point 60, the commencement of firing occurs with the mixture then in a condition of maximum compression. This is due to the explosion in the chamber 83 adjacent the spark plug P, the source of ignition. Some hot, exploding gases will diffuse through the short circumferentially extending firing slot 87 to ignite back of the next two upcoming vanes 89, thereby helping to provide additional impetus to the rotor motion. Each chamber preceding the firing chamber position 83, around the half circle to the exhaust port 3, will carry expanding gaseous exploded charges, and in each of these chambers there will be a progressively diminishing pressure exerted against the vanes which are now traveling down what amounts to an inclined plane 91 in principle provided by the bore of housing 9. Obviously at the point 3 of exhaust, these hot gases will be discharged into the exhaust manifold 5 (FIG. 1), if not discharged in some cases directly to the atmosphere.

FIGS. 5 and 6 serve better to show the fuel mixture flow pattern as related to vane movement. As vane 93 moves outwardly under spring pressure and centrifugal force, looking at both FIGS., the fuel mixture is drawn through passage 79 into an arcuate chamber 95 and thence into inner chambers 77 behind the vanes. As the vanes move inwardly, as indicated by vane 97, the fuel mixture is compressed and enters another arcuate chamber 99 communicating with passage 81 leading to the tubes 27, 29 and 31 previously mentioned. Chambers 95 and 99 are provided in a circular plate 90 disposed in a circular recess 92 in the top plate 13 and carrying seal rings 94 entered in an annular groove 96 in the periphery of the plate 90 on the side toward the vanes, whereby to help seal off the radially inner chambers 77, where the primary compression of the mixture occurs, from the radially outer chambers, where the secondary compression and explosion occurs. The vanes, as seen at 98 in FIGS. 4 and 5, are split diagonally for several reasons:

I. To insure better sealing along the top edges of the inner halves and along the bottom edges of the outer halves, as well as better sealing along the outer edges of the outer halves, while getting the best possible distribution of the spring pressure in these three directions; and

2. To enable cheaper manufacture and cheaper replacement of worn outer halves, the inner halves being interchangeable also with the outer halves for a further savmg.

FIGS. 7 through 9 show the combined cooling and oiling system. Looking at FIG. 7, it can be seen that there is an annular groove 101 and a series of chambers 103 in bottom plate V 11, which are interconnected at certain points to contain the oiling-cooling fluid, hereafter called the fluid. Leakage paths established through the joints between abutting and interfitted parts allow the fluid to find its way between rotating parts, such as the rotor and its set of sliding vanes and bottom plate pad 105 upon which the rotor turns in the housing 9. A quantity of the fluid is placed in the engine so that reservoirs 107 in rotor 65 are all filled. As the rotor 65 gains speed, centrifugal force acting in a transverse or radial direction carries fluid from the lover leakage paths upward through ports 109 of FIGS. 4 and 8, into the reservoirs 107 and farther outward through ports 111, also seen in FIGS. 4 and 8. From there, the fluid enters upper annular groove 113, seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, through passage 115. Looking at FIG. 9, it can be seen how the fluid then flows into space 117 in the top plate 13 from which some of it flows upwardly through the cooler 43--49 for cooling, before being returned through conduit 39 to the chambers 103 in the bottom plate 13. lnterconnecting passages such as at 119 serve to conduct fluid between chambers 117 in the bottom plate. A certain amount of the fluid is allowed to bypass the cooler 43-49 by direct flow downwardly from chambers 117, through passages 55 back to chambers 103 in the bottom plate 1 l.

Passage 123 shown in FIG. 8 is important since it is in the path of air to which some of the heat of the fluid is to be imparted. This warmed air flows downwardly and enters the engine through air exchange port 125 which leads to the chamber position at the exhaust opening area 3 of FIG. 3. This gives a scavenging and cooling effect simultaneously, the air being supplied preferably a by an air compressor AC suitably driven by motor M or off the shaft 47. The inrush of this air gives the exhaust gases a push" toward the exhaust outlet ports and also brings lower temperature air into cooling contact with those chambers which have just passed through the diminishing combustion phases. This supplements the air-fuel mixture picked up three chamber positions (about 60) farther into the intake cycle.

In operation, this engine runs smoothly due to the cylindrical form of the bore in the housing 9, against the walls of which the outer ends of the vanes 63 have sliding engagement while moving radially relative to the rotor 65 in their guides, this cylindrical rotor, which serves as the flywheel for the engine, being mounted eccentrically in the housing. The smooth engagement also assures longer life for the housing and the vanes, and, as has been pointed out before, these vanes are split diagonally, as at 98, to enable use interchangeably of outer and inner halves for one replacement of worn outer halves by unworn inner halves, and thereafter replacement of the worn outer halves at about half the cost than would be involved if the vanes were of one-piece construction. The split construction, however, also insures better sealing on all four sides of each combustion chamber, with approximately the same pressure applied on each wall. The two-stage compression of the combustible mixture, with initial compression being secured by the vanes 63 in their guides, and final compression between the rotor 65 and housing 9 in the combustion chambers between neighboring vanes, assures maximum power development, ignition occurring as soon as possible after a given chamber has passed dead center 60, so that the rapidly expanding gases resulting from the ignition can have full play on the vanes as in a turbine to transmit drive to the rotor and the driven shaft 47 turning with it until the vanes arrive at the exhaust port 3 diametrically opposite dead center 60 mentioned above. The spark plug P is disposed about 60 advanced from the dead center point 60 but some of the flame from ignition of compressed gas and air mixture ignited there flashes back through a channel 87 in the wall of the housing bore to the chambers between dead center 60 and the spark plug P to start the ignition in these other combustion chambers and thereby assure complete combustion and get the maximum mileage out of the fuel being used, without any danger of preignition knocking. Scavenging and cooling air delivered to the combustion chambers through port 125 at the point of exhausting spent gases assures clearing out of these gases while giving a desirable cooling effect to the metal walls of the combustion chambers just prior to injection of the precompressed fuel mixture from tubes 27, 29 and 31. The incoming air, as seen at 123 in FIG. 8, is warmed to some extent by the outgoing hot oil going to cooler 43, so that the cooling effect on the engine parts during scavenging is moderate. The engine, as illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 3, turns counterclockwise, but it should be clear that if the rotor 65 is reversed, end for end, and the carburetor 28 and spark plug P, as well as the mixture transfer tubes 27, 29 and 31, and also the oil return tube 39, are relocated on the other side of dead center 60, an engine running clockwise is obtained. The rotor 65, besides serving as a flywheel to transmit drive to the shaft 47, and as a fuel and air pump to supply compressed mixture to the combustion chambers, serves also as the fluid (lubricant and coolant) pump, this fluid delivered by tube 39 to the bottom plate 11 circulating therethrough for cooling effect and to lubricate the bottom pad 105. and the rotor 65 and its vanes operating thereon. The fluid circulating upwardly in the chambers 71 in the rotor 65 serves as a coolant for the rotor and its vanes and is pumped by centrifugal force into the top plate 13 where, aside from again serving as a lubricant for the rotor and its vanes turning relative to plate 90 and seal rings 94, it serves as a coolant, and a portion of the fluid circulates through the cooler or heat exchanger 43 for return later through tube 39 to the bottom plate 11, the rest circulating downwardly as a coolant through the passages 55 in the housing 9 directly back to the chambers 103 in the bottom plate 11. The intake openings 109 at the lower end of the passages'7l in the rotor (FIGS. 3 and 4) are located closer to the shaft 47 and the axis of rotation of the rotor, while the outlet openings 111 at the upper end of these passages are located farther out from the center, thereby causing the flow of fluid through the rotor to be in the upward direction, as described, the fluid being drawn into the passages'at the bottom at the same rate as fluid is discharged from the upper ends of these passages.

It is believed that the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

lclaim:

l. A rotary turbine type internal combustion engine comprising a housing having a smooth cylindrical bore, a cylindrical rotor parallel to said housing but eccentrically mounted for rotation in said bore and of suffice sufficient weight to serve as the engine's flywheel and having a driven shaft connected therewith, vanes of generally rectangular form reciprocable radially relative to said rotor in radial guides provided therein and having smooth sliding engagement on their outer ends in the bore of said housing and defining walls of compression and combustion chambers peripherally of said rotor between it and the bore of said housing, end plates closing the opposite ends of said housing bore and slidably engaged by the ends of said rotor and the ends of said vanes and forming end closures for said compression and combustion chambers, a carburetor, means defining precompression chambers at the inner end portions of said radial guides, means providing communication for said precompression chambers with said carburetor into which a combustible fuel and air mixture formed by air passing through said carburetor is drawn into said precompression chambers in outward movement of said vanes through a portion of one revolution of said rotor and then compressed by said vanes in inward movement thereof through another portion of a revolution, means for conducting the precompresscd combustible mixture from said precompression chambers to the compression chambers for further compression in the outward movement of the same vanes, and ignition means for igniting the fully compressed combustible mixture in the combustion chambers, the housing having an exhaust port for discharge of spent gases from said combustion chambers.

2. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, in cluding a scavenging port in one of said end plates radially inwardly relative to said exhaust port and communicating with said combustion chambers at the exhaust point to which compressedair from a source of compressed air is continuously delivered to expel spent gases and incidentally subject all of the walls of said combustion chambers to a cooling effect prior to said chambers serving as compression chambers, whereby to prevent preignition of precompressed combustible mixture.

3. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ignition means is provided on the housing in a predetermined circumferentially spaced relation to the dead center point of said bore in relation to said rotor, said housing having a restricted circumferentially extending firing slot provided therein extending in said bore from the ignition means part way to the dead center point for diffusion of a limited amount of hot exploding gases to at least one oncoming combustion chamber to assist in the ignition of the fully compressed combustible mixture therein.

4. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ignition means is provided on the housing in a predetermined circumferentially spaced relation to the dead center point of said bore in relation to said rotor, said housing having a restricted circumferentially extending firing slot provided therein extending in said bore from the ignition means part way to the dead center point fordiffusion of a limited amount of hot exploding gases to a plurality of oncoming combustion chambers to assist in the ignition of the fully compressed combustible mixture therein.

5. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim I, wherein said vanes are split diagonally'into triangular halves which are interchangeable.

6. An internal combustion as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vanes are split diagonally into triangular halves which are interchangeable, each of said vanes having spring means disposed in the inner end of the gudie therefor pressing outwardly on the inner half of said vane.

7. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 including seal means in concentric relation to the ends of said rotor between the latter and said end-plates to seal against leakage between the precompression chambers in the inner ends of said guides and the compression and combustion chambers peripherally of said rotor.

8. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of said end plates has a circular recess provided therein concentric with said rotor and receiving a circular bearing plate slidably engaging the adjacent end of said rotor and vanes, a said plate containing seal means in concentric relation to the end of said rotor to seal against leakage between the precompression chambers'in the inner ends of said guides and the compression and combustion chambers peripherally of said rotor.

9. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 including to two arcuate chambers of equal radius provided in said housing between said rotor and housing at one end in concentric relation to said rotor, one of said chambers communicating with the'inner ends of the precompression chambers in the inner ends of said radial guides for inlet to said chambers of combustible fuel and air mixture from said carburetor,

the other of said chambers communicating with the means for conducting the precompressed combustible mixture from the said precompression chambers to the compression chambers for further compression. v

10. An internal combustion engine asset forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of said end plates has a circular recess provided therein concentric with said rotor and receiving a circular bearing plate slidably engaging the adjacent end of said rotor and vanes, said plate having two arcuate chambers of equal radius provided therein in diametrically opposed concentric relationship to one another and'to said rotor, one of said chambers communicating with the inner ends of the precompression chambers in the inner ends of said radial guides for inlet to said chambers of combustible fuel and air mixture from said carburetor, the other of said chambers communicating with the means for conducting the precompressed combustible mixture from the said precompression chambers to the compression chambers for further compression.

11. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing ishollow-walled and likewise said end plates and also said rotor between said radial guides for said vanes, the chambers thus formed being in communication with one another, and said rotor serving as a centrifugal pump for pumping a coolant fluid from one end plate to the other end plate and back again through the hollow walls of said housing.

12. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1. wherein the chambers in said rotor have communication at one end with the chambers in one end plate through ports nearer the axis of rotation than ports at the other end of said rotor providing communication between the chambers in said rotor and the other end plate, thereby determining the direction of flow of coolant fluid through said rotor.

13. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 vwherein said housing is hollow-walled and likewise said end plates and also said rotor between said radial guides for said vanes, the chambers thus" formed being in communication with one-another, and said rotor serving as a centrifugal pump for pumping a coolant fluid from one end plate to the other end plate and back again through the hollow walls of said housing, the coolant fluid being a fluid lubricant, which in passing from the one end plate into said rotor and from said rotor into the other end plate, lubricates said rotor and its sliding vanes in addition to serving as a coolant.

14. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing is hollow-walled and likewise said end 7 plates and also said rotor between said radial guides for said vanes, the chambers thus formed being in communication with one another, and said rotor serving as a centrifugal pump for pumping a coolant fluid from one end plate to the other end plate and back again through the hollow walls of said housing, there being-a cooling device through which at least a -'portion of said coolant is circulated before return to the firstmentioned end plate.

15. An internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said. housing is hollow-walled and likewise said end plate and also said rotor between said radial guides for said vanes, the chambers thus formed being in communication with one another and said rotor serving as a centrifugal pump for pumping a coolant fluid from one end plate to the other end plate and back again through the hollow walls of said housing, the coolant fluid being a fluid lubricant, which in passing from the one end plate into said rotor and from said rotor into the other end plate, lubricates said rotor and its sliding vanes in addition to servingas a coolant, there beinga cooling device through which at least a portion of said coolant fluid is circulated before return to the first-mentioned end plate.

16. An internal combustionengine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said housing is hollow-walled and likewise said end plates and also said rotor between said radial guides for said vanes, the chambers thus formed being in communication with one another and said rotor serving as a centrifugal pump for pumping a coolant fluid from one end plate to the other end plate and back again through the hollow walls of said housing, there being a cooling device through which at least a portion of said coolant is circulated before return to the firstmentioned end plate, a conduit for compressed air extending from a source of compressed air to said scavenging port being disposed in heat transfer relation to a conduit for the coolant fluid extending from said second mentioned end plate to the cooling device. 

